If you listen to good music on the radio, there is a song played frequently right now by “Jelly Roll” called ‘Need a Favor’ (his spelling, not mine.)

The chorus goes like this.

“I only talk to God when I need a favor
And I only pray when I ain’t got a prayer
So, who the hell am I, who the hell am I
To expect a Savior, oh
If I only talk to God when I need a favor?
But God, I need a favor”

I’ve been around church life for long enough (50 years) to ‘know’ that throwing the occasional prayer up isn’t how it works. The ‘formula’ for getting answers to prayer is based on relationship and regular communication with the Father. 

We know that if only the world would get with the message, talk to God more often, then life would be much simpler for them.

And yet, if some of us are honest, that is exactly how we approach our relationship with God. Sundays between 10 and 12, with the occasional hour thrown in for good measure and brownie points. An announcement comes out telling us about a ‘night of prayer’ and we panic because we won’t know how to pray.  Certainly not out loud.  In front of people. 

I know there are lots of folk who will read this and think “that’s not me.” And you will be right. I do know a lot who pray continuously, who talk to God like He’s in the room, and that He really does care about us.

But I also know that there are a large number for whom the lyrics of Jelly Roll are all too true. Its only when things are going pear shaped that we get on our knees and speak tentatively into the night wondering if anyone is listening.

He goes on to say

“I know Amazing Grace, but I ain’t been livin’ them words
Swear I spend most Sundays, drunk off my ass, than I have in church
Hard cover King James only been savin’ dust on the nightstand
And I don’t know what to say by the time I fold my hands”

I don’t know about you, but when I look back over my life there is no doubt about the Amazing Grace that I have experienced. It’s often difficult to see it at the time, but hindsight is 20/20 and I can testify to the goodness of God.

I guess my question to myself, and to you, is this. What is the evidence of that belief in the way I live my life? 

Someone once suggested that it was easy to spot someone who had spent time at the newsstand reading the papers. They were full of information about current events, the could offer opinion on the politics of the day, and how to save the world. 

The same should be true of the one who has experienced the Grace of God. Do we want to find out more about the one who saved us?  Is it obvious? Or has our primary source of information been left at the back of a shelf. Maybe we have an App on our phones, but how easy is it for other Apps to compete for our attention? 

It’s not that surprising that some of us don’t know what to say to God when we ‘get round’ to talking to Him. 

The truth is He wants to be involved in more than just getting us out of sticky situations. He isn’t just there as our get out of jail free card. He wants to journey with us, to make sure we don’t get into the sticky situation in the first place.

The best news is that if you identify with this position and are worried about how to get back to where you left off in your walk with God – 80’s Christian rockers Petra have you covered.

“You say you’ve walked ten thousand steps away
But did you know that it’s only one step back?
Because the one who hears you when you pray
Is the one who’s there beside you and he’ll never walk away”.

Shalom.